1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging device, an imaging method and a program particularly appropriate to a digital camera to carry out flash imaging.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, not exclusively limited to a digital still camera or a silver film camera, but it is usual to control an imaging operation for still image imaging with a flash that is an auxiliary light source emitted. Namely, when the flash is fully emitted one time for imaging, the imaging operation is controlled so as to disable the next flash imaging until a charged state of a large-capacity capacitor to emit the flash reaches an emission allowable amount after the preceding flash imaging.
Therefore, specifically, in a state that a battery for a power source has been consumed, it takes time until the next flash imaging becomes possible after carrying out the flash imaging once, and photo opportunities are probably missed frequently.
Leaving that situation, this patent applicant proposes the following technique. Aiming at imaging an object in an appropriate luminance while reducing an affect on a battery life as much as possible, if a shutter speed to be set is slower than 1/60 second, the technique corresponds to the luminance of the object without emitting the flash with photographic sensitivity increasing. On the contrary, if the shutter speed is slower than 1/60 second although the ISO sensitivity has been maximized, the technique determines to carry out a flash emission and also determines the sensitivity. If the flash emission is determined as a necessary imaging condition in the forgoing processing, the technique lowers the sensitivity to terminate processing according to processing flow at the time of half-depression of a shutter button when the reach distance of the flash becomes not excessive to an object distance then determines the sensitivity (for instance, patent document 1: Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2005-204120).